NewsLEE & ASSOCIATES EXPANDS INTO CANADA

Lee & Associates, the USA’s largest broker-owned commercial real estate firm, has opened an office in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The office, which is the firm’s first outside of the USA, is headed by commercial property veteran Chris Anderson, the former president at DTZ Vancouver.

The expansion into Canada follows the establishment of a strategic alliance between Lee & Associates and Gerald Eve in October 2015.

Jeffrey Rinkov, CEO of Lee & Associates, said: “Lee & Associates has been focused on the expansion of its national office and broker outreach for the last five years. In the last year we have been talking aggressively with Chris about the possibilities of a Lee office in Canada. When Chris and his partners attended our roker summit in October it was a defining moment in their decision to join our firm. We are extremely excited about the talent that Chris and his partners are bringing to our company and what this will means to our client services.”

Vancouver is a popular market for local and national investors and developers. In addition, the off-shore buyer views Canada, and particularly Vancouver, as a safe haven for their investment dollar. The knock on Vancouver is the lack of available product which continues to put downward pressure on yields and there appears to be no end in sight as investors are paying record low cap rates (as low as 2% on a recent apartment building trade) in all asset classes.